Field Trip Absences
by SporadicDeviance
Summary: When two students from Mr. Simmons Fourth Grade class turn up missing on the way back from the field trip to the chocolate factory, their classmates are left with the uncertainty of not knowing where they could be, or even if they're okay. Based off the episode "Busses, Bikes, and Subways".
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Alright, it's been a while since I uploaded on this site. So many years of inactivity. I've been meaning to update my old story but I couldn't find the inspiration. Then I was watching Hey Arnold episode "Busses, Bikes, and Subways" and I started to brainstorm on how the fourth grade class of P.S. 118 reacted to Harold and Helga going missing for the night. We did get some glimpses of it from Arnold and Mr. Simmons' perspective, but that was it. Before you knew it, the thoughts became words on a word document, and well here we are. So, without further ado, enjoy chapter one of "Field Trip Absences".**

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The lights of the bus illuminated the highway as it transported a group of children back towards the city.

The kids on the bus were bummed that the field trip to the chocolate factory was cut short due to a stowaway child being caught swimming in a vat of chocolate, but they kept things in brighter spirits by singing "99 Bottles of Beer" on the trip back.

Most of the children on the bus and even their teacher were singing along merrily, but one kid with a head in the shape of a football ceased singing as a light feeling of uncertainty began to hit him.

The kid next to him noticed the silence right next to him.

"What's wrong? Why did you stop singing?" the boy asked.

"I don't know. I just got this strange feeling like something was…missing."

"Arnold, you're probably just bummed about leaving the chocolate factory early and what you're probably feeling is just disappointment."

"No Gerald, that's not it." Arnold retorted. "Something just feels off, I just don't know what it's off from."

"Whatever you say man." Was all Gerald said to his friend as he went back to the song.

Arnold kept quiet as the rest of the bus continued their sing-along. The boy pondered to himself as to what was making him feel so uncertain.

He saw all the sights he wanted to see at the factory.

He got to sample some of the chocolate.

He had all of his belongings on him.

He did all he wanted to do and he did not leave anything behind, yet he still had this vague feeling of absence.

The kid with the football head decided to look around the bus to see if he could get some clarity. When Arnold looked behind him, he noticed an empty seat that he thought was where one of his classmates sat. Arnold turned to the girl next to the empty spot as he asked her a question.

"Hey Phoebe, where's Helga?"

"Gosh. I don't know." Pheobe responded. "I assumed she was sitting up front."

Arnold finally found out what was missing.

"Uh-oh…"

Arnold got off his seat and he went down the aisle with Phoebe right behind him, leaving Gerald confused at his seat. As the two went towards the front of the bus, a boy with a large nose and stringy hair spoke up.

"Hey Arnold, what's wrong? Do you have to use the boy's room or something?" the boy asked.

"No Sid." Arnold answered in a agitated tone. "We lost Helga and we don't know where she is."

"Oh I know where she went."

"You do?"

"Sure, she went to go get Harold"

"And where would Harold be Sid?" Phoebe inquired.

"Last time I saw Harold was-" Sid's eyes went wide as he stopped talking. As if he made a sudden realization. "back at the factory…"

Arnold's suspicions were confirmed and he and Phoebe left their now worrisome classmate as they continued towards the seat of their teacher, Mr. Simmons. When the two students got to the front of the bus, Mr. Simmons turned his attention to them.

"Arnold, Phoebe," the teacher addressed his students "is something the matter?"

"We have to turn the bus around." Arnold demanded.

"What?! But why?" Simmons growing more confused.

"Because we left Helga and Harold at the chocolate factory!" Phoebe answered.

The confusion on the teacher's face immediately turned into one of shock and horror.

"WE'VE WHAT?! OH-MY-WORD!"

That outburst from the teacher stopped the song, as well as the bus, dead in its tracks. The other kids on the bus began to talk amongst themselves as to what was going on.

Mr. Simmons stood up and acknowledge the class while Arnold and Phoebe returned to their seats.

"Now class I know this might seem sudden, but we have to turn the bus around and go back to the factory."

Most of the children were confused with Mr. Simmons' actions. Soon after, the bus made a U-turn and began heading to the factory. As Arnold and Phoebe sat back down in their seats, a girl in a red sweater began asking the two of them questions.

"What just happened up there Arnold?" The girl asked. "Why are we going back to the chocolate factory."

"Because we left Helga behind there Rhonda."

"Harold too!" Sid added, making the rest of the kids gasp at the revelation. Rhonda's eyes widened for a moment before she immediately regained her composure.

A tall boy sitting in front of Sid jolted up from his seat frantically.

"Wait, what do you mean 'Harold too'? And what's this about Helga being left behind?" The boy asked in a southern drawl.

"Well Stinky," the boy replied while he fidgeted his hands. "I believe that while we were getting ready to leave, Helga went off on her own to find Harold."

"But last I remember, Harold was in the hospitality room at the factory." Stinky stated.

"Exactly." Arnold interjected. "Which is why we're going back to the factory. To get Helga and Harold and go back to the city."

"If they're still at the factory Arnold." Sid added.

"And what do you mean by that Sid?" Gerald inquired.

Sid's eyes seem to bulge out and he started to perspire as he explained himself, "It's getting pretty dark out, so the factory would be closed by now. Harold and Helga would be left at the gates where anything can happen to them. They could get run over by a delivery truck, or eaten alive by wolves, or even come across an angry group of CIRCUS FREAKS!"

Sid's list of scenarios for the missing pair made the children on the bus increasingly nervous with each new possibility. The tension on bus kept growing until Rhonda let out a scoff.

" _Puh_ -lease," she stated as she was filing her nails. "You're being over dramatic."

"Am I Rhonda? **AM I?!** "

Rhonda did not even respond to the outburst as she kept filing her nails, appearing as nonchalant as one could. This display irritated the paranoid boy.

"Well, if I'm 'over dramatic', what about you?"

"What _about_ me?" Rhonda stopped her nail filing and shot Sid a mean look.

The look had no effect on Sid. "You're acting like nothing is wrong. Like Harold and Helga are alright."

"Because they are alright."

"How can you be so sure of that?" Stinky interjected with his own question.

"Because none of the nonsense that Sid's spewing from his mouth could possibly happen. Chances are, those two are at the factory gates waiting for us to come back and pick them up."

"I'm not so sure if that might be the case Rhonda." Phoebe stated.

"And why's that?"

"Because all throughout the trip, Helga kept on mentioning a wrestling event going on tonight that she had attain tickets for."

"You mean Wrestlemania?" Gerald asked.

"Correct. She even stated on how she didn't even want to go on this trip and even seemed excited when the trip prematurely ended, more than likely due to the fact that an early departure from the factory would mean her getting to the event sooner."

Arnold joined the conversation at this point, "So you're saying that Helga didn't want to go to the factory in the first place?"

"She did seem firm in her opposition of the field trip."

"And she probably left the bus due to fact that Harold wasn't on the bus in the first place?"

"Precisely. She assumed that the bus wouldn't depart unless all the students were present and accounted for, therefore she got off the bus in order to collect Harold so she can leave the factory and go to Wrestlemania."

"Guess that assumption was wrong." Gerald remarked.

"So what does this have to do with anything?" Rhonda inquired.

"My point is that due to Helga's desire to attend Wrestlemania, she may have set off on her own so she can get to the event on time." Phoebe concluded.

"Willikers," Stinky stated, "and I reckon that Harold probably tagged along with Helga, on account of him being frightful of being by his lonesome, 'specialy when it's so dark out there."

Rhonda lost her patience with this conversation. "This is ridiculous. We shouldn't use hearsay evidence to jump to conclusions, and we certainly don't need scenarios that sound like they came from a cheesy B-movie."

Rhonda made sure to look at Sid for that last part, which made the boy turn around and sit back down in his seat arms crossed.

"It's much more reasonable for them to realize that the bus will come back for them, which it's in the process of doing might I add."

The other kids silently agreed with Rhonda's assessment, with the exception of Sid, who acted like he was ignoring everyone.

"Trust me, when we get back to the factory, we'll see Harold complaining about how hungry he is while Helga will have a look that says the she's about ready to deck someone. If I were you Arnold, I would hide from Helga when we pick her up."

That last part made Arnold a tad nervous.

Rhonda went back to filing her nails while the other kids talked amongst themselves. Without anyone noticing, the stuck-up girl in red flashed a look of uncertainty on her face as she continued to work on her cuticle.

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 **AN:** **Well there you go. I hope that was a good start for you all. I'm going to update as soon as possible. Until then, leave a review if you want to give me any sort of feedback, I appreciate reviews both positive and negative.**

 **Also shout-out to otalku17 for both proofreading and helping me come up with a title for the story.**


	2. Chapter 2

When the bus pulled up to the gates, the occupants of the vehicle looked out their respective windows to see if they could find their two missing classmates.

"Does anyone see Harold or Helga?" Arnold asked the entire bus.

"There does not seem to be a trace of them from the looks of it." Phoebe replied solemnly.

"Aw man, I knew it! They're missing!" Sid exclaimed as he threw his hands in the air, "Looks like you were wrong about them staying put, Rhonda."

Rhonda did not respond to what Sid said, she just continued to look out the window while fiddling with her nail filer.

Mr. Simmons stood up in the aisle and motioned to the kids on the bus. "Alright class, I know this is distressing for us all, but we need to remain calm and of sound mind. I'll get off the bus and search the area for any clues of Helga and Harold's whereabouts. Hopefully they didn't go too far."

"How are you going to be able to find any clues out there?" Gerald questioned as he pointed out the window next to him. "It's pitch black out there."

Just then Arnold snapped his fingers. "I know."

"Know what?" Stinky asked.

"How to find some clues." Arnold got out of his seat and went to the front of the bus to where the stowaway sat. "We'll use Chocolate Boy."

"Chocolate Boy? He's the one who ruined this field trip in the first place. How would he be of any help?" Sid bluntly asked.

"Because he knows all things chocolate."

That statement left the bus silent in confusion.

"Um Arnold," Gerald spoke up, "Care to clarify with what you just said."

"Look," Arnold began. "We know that Harold spent the majority of the field trip in the hospitality room, which means he would probably be covered in some chocolate from all the candy he consumed. So there's more than likely a scent of chocolate left behind that we know Chocolate Boy can sniff out."

The rest of the students on the bus picked up on what Arnold was talking about as they muttered to each other how the plan made sense.

"Wait a minute." Mr. Simmons interjected, "Chocolate Boy is still hyper from all the chocolate he ate. It's hard enough just to keep him seated still. How can we make sure that he doesn't run off or try to make it into the factory again?"

The bus driver began to clear his throat loudly in order to get the attention of the teacher.

"Excuse me," he stated "but I do have some spare leashes in the glove compartment, in case any pet or kid becomes too rowdy on the bus."

The driver then reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a child leash and handed it to Mr. Simmons. The teacher took the leash and put it on Chocolate Boy. After the leash was on the chocolate obsessed youth, Arnold grabbed ahold of the other end and he allowed Chocolate Boy to lead him out of the bus, Mr. Simmons following the two soon after.

The other kids remained on the bus, displaying varying emotions as they waited.

Sid and Stinky fidgeted around in their seats, wanting any information as soon as they can get it. Phoebe had her hands clasped on her lap as she looked down at the bus floor, hoping no one would notice the distress on her face. Gerald managed to take note of Phoebe's state of being and he got out of his seat and made his way next to the concerned girl, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. Rhonda still looked out her window, her eyes moving around more frantically while she clutched onto her nail file tightly.

Outside the bus, Chocolate Boy was sniffing around, leading Arnold and Mr. Simmons around the front of the factory grounds, the headlights on the bus being their only source of light. Chocolate Boy soon caught a good whiff of a specific sweet scent and pulled Arnold to the bars of the gate.

"What is it Chocolate Boy?" Arnold asked. "You smell something?"

"Yeah-yeah." The hyperactive child answered, "It's Harold's chocolate. Probably an hour ago, maybe an hour and fifteen."

"Oh dear, I'm afraid they're long gone." Mr. Simmons declared with remorse. "I better go straight to Harold's and Helga's parents and tell them that they're missi-"

Mr. Simmons' thoughts were interrupted by Chocolate Boy sniffing the teacher's legs.

"Stop sniffing me." The teacher demanded as he put his hand on Chocolate Boy's head.

As Mr. Simmons distanced himself from boy on the leash, he noticed a payphone across the street.

"I'll be right back Arnold, wait here okay?" Mr. Simmons requested his student as he went towards the payphone.

While the teacher started to dial, Chocolate Boy got loose from Arnold's grip and he scurried back on the bus. Shortly afterwards, Gerald and Phoebe got off the bus, followed by Sid and Stinky.

"So…what's the scoop Arnold?" Gerald asked hesitantly.

Arnold sighed before responding, "It seems that Harold and Helga left this spot about an hour ago."

"AN HOUR!" Phoebe repeated the last two words in shock.

"But they could be anywhere then." Stinky stated as he turned his head in all directions.

"I know." Arnold replied gravely. "This is really serious."

"What's really serious?" a voice asked.

The kids turned their attention to the source of the voice. It was Rhonda, who was getting off the bus, looking both confused and concerned.

Before anyone else could answer, Sid went up to the girl exiting the bus in a determined manner.

"I'll tell you what's serious, Harold and Helga are gone! MISSING!"

Rhonda felt tense after hearing what Sid had just said. She moved herself around the agitated boy and up to the front of the bus to get a good look down the road into the horizon.

She tried to find a reasonable explanation, "Well…maybe they're…following the path that the bus took when we came here."

"That's impossible," Gerald declared. "We would've seen them walking on the side of the road before we even came here."

"Yeah," Stinky added, "and I'm pretty sure that neither Helga or Harold would know which way the bus headed towards, on account of none of us were paying any attention to where the bus was going when we first went to the factory."

The girl looking down the road started to feel her hands begin to shake as her heart rate began to accelerate.

"Well…perhaps they went to the payphone over there and called their parents to pick them up."

"Rhonda, Helga didn't bring any money with her. And even if Harold had the proper amount of currency on his person and was able to contact his parents, both he and Helga would be still at this present location waiting for someone to pick them up." Phoebe reluctantly stated.

Rhonda's legs began to feel like rubber and her throat felt like there was a swelling lump wedged inside it. She tried think of any reasonable situation that the two missing kids would be in that would lead to a good outcome, but nothing came to mind. She was starting to lose hope.

"Wel-may-maybe…maybe-" was all the worrisome girl could say before Sid decided to speak his mind.

"Maybe nothing!" the boy snapped, "Get real Miss Lloyd! Harold and Helga aren't with their parents, they aren't on the road back home, **they're gone**! Lost! Missing! Nowhere to be found!"

Rhonda stopped trying to say anything else at that point, she did not even turn around to face the group. All she did was look down at her feet while Sid continued ranting with tears forming in his eyes.

"For all we know, those two could be wondering around aimlessly, cold, hungry, and afraid. Or they're trapped in some nightmare scenario with no way out. Or even worse that that! Yet here you are, hopelessly trying to fool yourself that they're alright. _HA!_ I wish I had that kind of delusional mindset."

"Stop it Sid." Arnold sternly interjected, "Rhonda's just trying to be hopeful for Helga and Harold. There's nothing wrong with that. Plus lashing out at each other is not helping anything."

Sid just scoffed and muttered a "Whatever" before he left the group in a huff to get back on the bus, using his jacket sleeve to wipe his eyes off.

Stinky just stood there, moving his gaze towards the bus entranceway, then Rhonda, then the rest of the group. After a brief period of awkward silence, the skinny country boy went back to the bus slowly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Arnold, Gerald, and Phoebe turned their attention to the girl with her back towards them. She stood there, head still slumped over. She was making short breathing noise and she sniffled her nose. Her legs shook as if they were ready to give in and let the girl fall onto the dusty ground below.

Arnold was about to speak up, but his teacher approached him and the other students.

"Okay children," Mr. Simmons began explaining, "I just got off the phone with the police. I informed them of the situation while giving them a good description of Harold and Helga, and they told me that they will start a search party tomorrow morning. Trust me, the police will do all they can do in order to find our fellow classmates. Now let's get back on the bus so you all can get back to your homes. I'll deliver the news to both the Pataki's and the Berman's in person after you are all back home. So come on. Let's get on the bus."

With that, Arnold, Gerald, and Phoebe returned to the bus with Mr. Simmons taking account of every student. The teacher noticed that Rhonda did not move from her spot and was still facing away from him. He went to the still girl with caution.

"Rhonda?" Mr. Simmons called out, "Are you okay?"

The teacher got in front of Rhonda and got a good look at her face, more specifically the tears that were starting to fall down the sides of her face. Mr. Simmons' heart felt heavy at the sight of the crying student. He pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and knelt to Rhonda's eye level.

"Don't worry Rhonda," Mr. Simmons said as he began to wipe the crying girl's eyes. "It'll be okay before you know it."

After wiping the tears off Rhonda's face, the teacher stood up and put his hand on his student's back and began to lead her back on the bus.


	3. Chapter 3

Before heading to the homes of the missing children, the bus made one last stop; 'Sunset Arms Boarding House'. Arnold, Gerald, Stinky, and Sid got off the bus and headed up the stoop to the front door. Arnold opened the door and the four of them entered the building as the bus drove off.

The group was somber as they walked down the foyer towards the kitchen where an old man in overalls and a small man with a large nose were having an exchange.

"I'm telling you Phil, The Embalmer will blow it." The tiny man stated while pouring a bag of chips in a bowl.

"You're crazy Ernie." Phil guffawed, "The Embalmer has won every Wrestlemania match he has ever been in, and tonight won't be any different."

Ernie just laughed as he carried the bowl out of the kitchen. "Yeah we'll see. Hey Arnold."

"Hey Mr. Potts." Arnold greeted the boarder as he and his friends entered the kitchen and made their way to the table.

"Hey there Shortman. You and your friends are getting here a tad later then expected." Phil said.

"Hey Grandpa." Arnold greeted solemnly. "Sorry we're late."

Phil noticed the downtrodden manner of Arnold and his friends as he opened fridge.

"Is everything okay there fellas?"

"Not exactly." Stinky answered before sniffling his nose a bit.

"Well tell me all about it." The old man said as he pulled a bottle of Yahoo soda out of the fridge and displayed it to the four kids at the table. "Anyone want a soda?"

The boys noticed the Yahoo logo and they all grimaced, making the old man with the soda in his hand appear puzzled.

"Take that as 'no' then." Phil said before opening the bottle and taking a swig of the beverage.

"Sorry Phil." Gerald apologized "it's just that something happened at the factory."

"Say," the grandfather said. "how about you boys watch Wrestlemania with me and the borders? It's supposed to be a great show. Plus I got some snacks in the living room to chow down on, including this huge bowl full of Chocolate Num-Nums."

Stinky broke down after hearing that. He buried his face in his arms on the table and began loudly sobbing. Sid, in the meanwhile, began to cry into his hands.

Phil just stood there, growing even more confused at the sight before him.

"Did I say something wrong?" Phil asked his grandson.

"Sorry Grandpa. It's just that Harold and Helga were left behind at the factory." Arnold said.

"Well why don't you just go back to the factory and get them?"

"We did, but when we got back, neither of them were anywhere to be found."

The old man caught on to what was going on. "Ah, so they're missing now, aren't they?"

Before the conversation could continue, an old woman barged into the kitchen wearing a safari helmet and carrying a fly swatter, startling everyone else in the process.

"MISSING!?" the old woman cried out. "Who's missing?"

"Two of Arnold's friends Pookie." Phil answered the woman in safari gear.

"Oh. Well don't you worry young Kimba. Old Bwana here will accept the responsibility of tracking down your compatriots" Pookie proudly declared to the confusion of the kids as well as the mild annoyance of her husband.

"Thanks grandma, I mean Bwana, but my teacher already called the police to search for them." Arnold stated in an attempt to subdue his grandmother enthusiasm.

"Oh what has the police ever done to help find people? Especially out here in the jungle. What you need is an expert tracker like myself to find your fellow explorers."

Phil decided to intervene at that point.

"You are absolutely right Pookie." The old man declared in mock-urgency. "In fact, why don't you start off by searching the entire boarding house for the missing 'explorers'. And if you can't find them, well then search the house all over again. Continue doing this until either morning comes or you forget this exchange ever took place."

The senile woman saluted her husband with a hardy "Yes sir!" and she left the kitchen to begin her search.

Phil chuckled to himself before focusing his attention to Arnold "You know I love your grandmother Shortman, but she can't even find her marbles."

"It's alright." Arnold stated halfheartedly.

"Listen," Arnold's grandfather began, "I had a friend who went missing when I was about your age."

"Really?" Arnold inquired with the other boys sitting up to pay attention to the senior.

"Sure, name was Alfred Eisenberg. One time my class took a field trip to the textile mill. Well, we thought it was a field trip at the time, turns out the mill was light on labor so me and my class had to work from ten in the morning to six in the evening. Anyway, after the day was done, we loaded up on the carriage and went back to the school. When we returned home, we realized that we left Alfred back at the mill. The workers said they never saw him, so the entire town began a search party in hopes of finding poor Alfred."

"And after some searching, Alfred was found and brought back home to his friends and family?" Sid said with optimism in his voice.

" _Pfft!_ Heck no!" the grandfather answered bluntly. "He was never seen or heard from again! Rumors began spreading around saying Alfred either became a permanent worker within the mill, or he was taken in by crazy circus people, but that's all just speculation at this point."

"Grandpa, why would bring up a story like that?" Arnold asked while giving his grandfather an exasperated look.

Phil put his hand on his chin and thought to himself before responding with "I have no idea."

Arnold sighed to himself before Gerald spoke up.

"Hey Arnold."

"What is it?" Arnold turned his head to his best friend as he asked.

Gerald pointed to the other side of the table. When Arnold looked at where Gerald was pointing, he noticed that both Sid and Stinky were nowhere to be seen. Before Arnold could ask as to where the two were, the sound of a door slamming echoed in the boarding house. Outside two voices were calling out.

"Harold! Helga! Don't worry! We're coming for you guys!"

"We won't let any of those circus freaks take yall away!"

Realizing what just happened, Arnold and Gerald leapt out of their chairs and ran out of the building to chase after their friends.

Phil stared blankly at the door that Arnold and Gerald went through.

"Geez, if any more of Arnold's classmates turn up missing, his school would have to get yearbook photos from the back of milk cartons." The old man said to himself.

Phil then left the kitchen to the living room where Wrestlemania was being played on the television. When he got to the room, he saw Ernie Potts sitting next to a Vietnamese man on the sofa, a woman with blond hair on the loveseat, and a balding man wearing a suit in a rocking chair. The sight of the man in the suit set him off.

"OSCAR!" the old man shouted making the man in question jump in his seat.

"Oh hi there Grandpa. How nice of you to join us. _Uh-heh-heh-heh_." Oscar nervously chuckled.

"Don't give me that nonsense, and I aint your grandpa. Now what are you doing in my chair?!"

"Sitting?"

Ernie rubbed his forehead as he spoke to the man next to him. "Oh brother! He should've known this would happen. Am I right Hyunh?"

"He does not care!" Mr. Hyunh stated. "He just a freeloader! Not a good man! Not good at all!"

Phil turned to the blond in the love seat. "Suzie, what is wrong with your husband?"

"I'm sorry Phil." Suzie apologized. "I tried to get Oscar to get out of your chair, but he wouldn't listen to me."

"Listen Grandpa. Let me stay in your chair. I just got comfortable…Oh! And my lower back is in pain and I need to relax it." Oscar said through a toothy grin while rubbing his back.

"Forget your lower back. Your entire body is going to be in pain when I'm done with you!" Phil barked before grabbing Oscar by his collar, pulling him off his chair, and pinning him on the ground.

Suzie got out of her seat as she began an attempt to break up the skirmish while Ernie and Mr. Hyunh looked on at the spectacle.

"Oh man, now **this** is what I'm talking about!" Mr. Potts cheered. "With these two around, who needs pay-per-view?"

"I drink to that." Mr. Hyunh agreed before taking a sip out of his bottle of Yahoo.

Everyone in the room was so wrapped up in the fight between Phil and Oscar, that none of them noticed a girl with a pink bow and unibrow sitting next to a boy with a blue jacket and a t-shirt that seemed too small for his large frame within the crowd shots of the televised event.


	4. Chapter 4

The only light within the Lloyd residence that was still on in the middle of the night came from the lamp in Rhonda's room. The parents of the household went to sleep not long after their daughter returned home from the field trip. Rhonda however was pacing around her bedroom in a circle, not capable of going to sleep in her state of mind.

Every so often, Rhonda would walk towards her bedroom window and look at the street in front of her house. She turned her head left and right, looking as far down each end of the road as she could, hoping that she would see something or someone. When she did not find what she was looking for, the Lloyd heiress would move away from the window and go back to circling her room.

This continued until the phone rang in the Lloyd household, startling the anxious adolescent. Rhonda went towards the phone on her nightstand and picked it up before the sound could wake her parents. She took a deep breath to compose herself and she placed the phone on the side of her face.

"Hello." Rhonda greeted the caller.

"Hey Rhonda." A voice familiar to the young Lloyd said through phone's speaker.

"Hey Nadine. What's up?"

"Not much." Nadine answered quickly. "I just wanted to check up on you and make sure you're doing alright."

"'Alright?' Oh Nadine, don't be silly. Of course, I'm alright." Rhonda unconvincingly fibbed. "Why would you ever think otherwise."

"Well, you seemed pretty sad when Mr. Simmons brought you back on the bus, and you kept to yourself the whole trip back. I just thought that you were upset over Sid going off on you like he did."

"Oh, let's not concern ourselves about Sid, Nadine. He's just a little child who lacks any sort of emotional maturity that people like you and me possess." Rhonda stated with as much confidence as she could muster.

It was not enough to convince the girl on the other end of the phone conversation. "Look Rhonda, I know your worried about them. I am too."

"Nadine, can we not discuss this right now, or ever for that matter?" Rhonda requested.

"Why don't you want to talk about this?"

Rhonda sat down at her bedside as she stared out the window. "Because I don't want to think about it. Okay?"

"Ignoring the problem wont do any good Rhonda."

"As if we can do anything significant about this whole thing at this point." Rhonda rebutted.

"Don't you worry about Helga and Harold though?"

"Well yeah I worry about Helga." Rhonda answered. "I mean, I may seem reluctant to call her my friend, but she still is my friend regardless."

"And Harold?"

"…What about Harold?" Rhonda asked as she began fidget where she sat.

"Aren't you worried about him too?"

There was no reply from Rhonda. She sat there staring out the window with the phone still at her ear. Nadine was silent for a couple of seconds before she rephrased her question.

"You are concerned about Harold. Aren't you Rhonda?"

Rhonda shot up from her bed as she began her response.

"Why should I be?"

"Huh?" was the only statement Nadine could reply with.

"Why should I be concerned about Harold Berman?" Rhonda asked, becoming more emotional as she continued on her rant. "He clearly doesn't have any concern for anyone but himself. Why else would he stay at the factory when the rest of us were getting back on the bus, knowing full well that the bus would leave without him. Why else would he decide to go off in any random direction, dragging someone else along with him, instead of waiting for the bus to come back like any rational person would? Why else would he allow himself to be lost in the middle of nowhere without any knowledge on how to get back home?"

Nadine did not have any answer to any of the questions her friend was asking. She just let the emotional fourth grader on the other line continue her rant, not able to see the tears forming in the corners of Rhonda's eyes.

"It's because Harold doesn't care! He doesn't care if he left everyone without letting them even know where he went. He doesn't care how others would feel if he went up missing. He doesn't care if he made other people angry, or sad, or sacred for him. He doesn't care how anyone would feel if he was never seen… _sniff_ …o-or heard from…again…"

Rhonda could not say any more after her outburst. The only sounds that came from her were sobs along with the occasional hiccup as tears rolled down her face. She covered her eyes with her free hand in an attempt to compose herself. All Nadine could do was wait as she grew more uncomfortable from the sounds of her best friend crying.

The sobs were the only sounds in the room until a knock was made outside Ronda's bedroom door.

"Rhonda?" a woman's voice called from the other side of the door. "Darling, is everything okay?"

The young Lloyd wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and she took a deep breath before responding.

"Yes Mom. I'm alright." Rhonda weakly answered. "I'm just getting ready for bed."

"Okay dear." Mrs. Lloyd said hesitantly. "As long as you're fine."

With that, Rhonda's mother went back to her room. Rhonda's eyes were red and puffy while the cheeks on her face were still wet with tears. Another deep breath was taken before the depressed girl returned to her phone conversation.

"Listen Nadine." Rhonda's voice was shaky as she talked. "I have to hang up. Sorry for losing my cool back there."

"It's alright Rhonda." Nadine quickly responded. "You don't have to apologize. Just try to get some sleep, okay? It might do you some good."

"I might just do that. Goodnight Nadine."

"Night Rhonda."

Rhonda then heard a click followed by a dial tone coming from the speaker on the phone. The emotionally drained girl went back to her nightstand and hanged up the phone. She then went to the bookshelf by her door and began scanning the shelf for a particular book. The book in question had the words "Rhonda's Scrapbook" printed on its spine. As soon as she spotted the photo album, the young Lloyd took the book off the shelf and began going through its pages. The scrapbook contained numerous pictures of Rhonda's life from preschool to the present day.

One picture had her, Harold, Arnold, Gerald, and Eugene in turquoise bowling shirts and Helga in a lavender one eating ice cream at the bowling alley. Helga was the only one appearing somewhat miffed while everyone else in the picture looked jubilant. The photo, like the other pictures in the album, had pink writing on the white border at the bottom. The writing that was on this photograph said "Zephyrs' Victory Celebration + Helga".

Another picture was of Helga at the makeover party Rhonda was holding. Helga was wearing a purple cocktail dress, red heels, and light green eyeliner. Her hair was teased and her unibrow was plucked so that it became two eyebrows. Helga was doing an exaggerated pose while making a goofy face. The photo was labeled "Helga's Fashion Statement".

Another picture featured Rhonda along with her classmates, Arnold's grandfather, and Arnold's pet pig. They were in front of Fort Porcero on Elk Island. Everyone was wearing authentic recreations of American Revolutionary War attire with the exception of three; Sid wearing frontiersman clothes made out of animal skin, Stinky with a uniform of a confederate soldier, and Harold in a grey, sleeveless t-shirt, green pants, combat boots, and a black bandana. "The Pig War: 1998" was written on the bottom of the photograph.

After going through some of the photo album, Rhonda went to the back of the scrapbook's cover, which contained a compartment for a picture to be presented as the cover image of the photo album. The picture displaying on the cover was Rhonda's yearbook photo from the third grade, but when Rhonda opened the compartment, she pulled out two pictures that were behind her yearbook picture. Rhonda closed the compartment as well as the scrapbook and she put the book back on the shelf before going to her bed with each photograph in both hands. The girl laid on top of her bed and stared at both pictures with fondness.

The photo in her left hand showed her with Harold in front of the Tunnel of Love at the Cheese Festival. Rhonda remembered having to ask one of the festival carnies to take a picture of her and Harold when no one she knew was around. She looked so pleased in the photo having both her arms wrapped around Harold's and her head resting on Harold's shoulder. She had a wide grin on her face and her eyes were closed. Harold was rubbing the back of his head, looking both confused and nervous. The camera did capture the red on Harold's cheeks. "Me and Harold, Post-Tunnel Ride" was the picture's title.

The photo in her right hand was of Harold cradling a pillow that had an egg laying on top of it. The egg was in poor shape, being covered in cracks and scotch tape. The egg was wearing a mini bow and tutu, both of which were disheveled and slightly dirty. There was a face drawn on it, but the crayon was smudged somewhat. Regardless of the egg's appearance, Harold appeared to be very proud of it, as he was displaying it with a big smile plastered on his face. The picture was labeled "Harold and our baby; Courtney".

After reminiscing on the memories that the two photos brought back, Rhonda let out a brief sigh as she held the pictures to her chest. She turned her head towards the window and began to nod off. Before she drifted off into sleep, Rhonda whispered only one sentence;

"Please be okay."


	5. Chapter 5

The following morning came, and the city public school with the designated number one hundred and eighteen reopened its doors for another school day. The street in front of the school entrance was filled with busses and cars that were dropping off the children expected to get a good education. One of these cars was driven by a heavyset woman and had a boy with a blue jacket and a t-shirt that seemed too small for him in the passenger's seat and a girl with a pink bow and a unibrow sitting in the back. The woman parallel parked the car while the boy in the passenger's seat began to speak.

"Thanks for dropping us at school mommy." The boy's utterance of the word "mommy" made the girl in the back roll her eyes.

"It's no problem Harold. Anything for my little baby boy." And the woman's utterance of the words "little baby boy" made the girl gag for a moment.

"It was nice of you for letting me stay over for the night Mrs. Berman." The girl stated quickly before any more annoyingly saccharine words were uttered any further.

"Oh Helga." Mrs. Berman chimed. "It's not a big deal. Any friend of Harold's is welcome in our home."

"Yeah maybe you should get a couch with cushions not made from concrete next time I come over." Helga muttered under her breath while stretching her back.

"What was that dearie?" the joyful mother inquired.

"I said I appreciate your hospitality and your generosity." Helga stated quickly before getting out of the car as fast as she could.

Mrs. Berman gave her son a quick peck on the cheek before he could open his door. The overweight boy wiped his cheek with the palm of his hand.

"MOM!" Harold cried out in protest.

"Have a good day sweetheart!" Mrs. Berman called out as her son got out of the car with his backpack. As soon as both children were out of the car and on the sidewalk, Harold's mom drove off down the road and out of sight from the two kids.

"Well that was a fun time last night." Harold said as he began to walk down the sidewalk with Helga.

"Yeah," Helga sarcastically quipped "I had so much 'fun' being chased by midget clowns and swimming in freezing cold water. Really a highlight of my childhood that I'll look back on fondly in my golden years."

"I meant Wrestlemania."

"I know Pink Boy."

"Sorry again for making us miss the bus yesterday."

Helga casually waved her hand as she began to speak "Eh, don't worry about it. In the end, it turned out fine. We're safe. We're around people who don't want us dead, for the most part. Best of all, the seats you got us at Wrestlemania were much better than the ones I would've got with my tickets."

The two kids shared a brief laugh as the headed towards the entrance of the school's playground.

"Do you think the others were worried about us?" the overweight boy wondered out loud.

"Well considering that the bus left before anyone made sure we were on it." The girl in pink started. "I'm assuming they all just now realized we're gone."

"Well I know one thing."

"Just one?"

Harold ignored Helga's wisecrack as he continued. "I know that my pals are handling themselves well."

The declaration made Helga stop dead in her tracks, looking at her large classmate go three more steps in front of her into the playground before turning around to face her.

"Really?" Helga asked with a dumbfound expression. "You're talking about Stinky…and Sid, right?"

"Yeah." The Berman boy stated as-a-matter-of-factly. "I know my guys. They're no nonsense tough guys, like me."

Helga did not even get the chance to roll her eyes before two boys ran up behind Harold with tears pouring down their eyes.

"Harold! You're alive!" the short boy with a long noise declared.

"We we're so worried about yall." A tall boy said in his southern accent.

Before Harold could turn to acknowledge Sid and Stinky, he felt the two wrap their arms around him in a giant bear hug as they began to cry tears of joy. Harold was too shell-shocked by this display of emotion to even comment, leaving Helga the only one to make a response.

"Yeah. Real manly men you got there Harold."

The two crying boys released Harold from their grip, still displaying their soppy side. Helga smirked at the sight until she noticed Stinky coming towards her, tears rolling down his face and onto his shirt and both of his arms extended towards her.

"We're happy yall- _sniff_ -didn't end up like Alfred Eisenberg." Stinky sobbed as he went to the now terrified girl to give her an embrace.

Stinky did not even finish his second step before Helga put her hand in front of the boy making him stand still, arms still stretched in front of him.

"Don't touch me Stinky." Helga ordered. "Don't even take one step closer. Because if you do, you will have yourself a whole 'nother reason to cry. **Got that bucko**?"

Helga finished by balling her hand into a fist, making her knuckles pop loud enough for Stinky to hear. The girl's threat was not lost on Stinky as he let his arms down and began to back away carefully.

Just as Stinky made enough distance between him and Helga, the blond girl with the unibrow felt someone from behind wrapping her arms around Helga's waist. Helga did not have to wonder who the arms belonged to.

"Oh Helga, it really is you!" Phoebe rejoiced, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "I almost allowed my formerly depressed state of mind, to trick me into believing that I was hallucinating yours and Harold's presence, but now I see that I was not being delirious. Oh, I'm so elated to know you're safe and sound."

Helga did not force her friend off her, despite all of her internal instincts telling her otherwise. All she did was pat Phoebe's head in order to get her attention before speaking.

"I appreciate your concern Phoebe, but can you please let go of me. And pull yourself together, why don't you? Criminy! I thought you had a better sense of dignity compared to those two emotional train wrecks over here."

Helga motioned to Sid and Stinky, who were still in the midst of their sobbing while Harold looked puzzled during the whole predicament.

"Right. I'm sorry Helga." Phoebe apologized as she ended her embrace. The short bespectacled girl adjusted her glasses so she could wipe her eyes off. When she readjusted her glasses back in place, Phoebe gave her best friend a thumbs up. "Mellowing."

Not long afterwards, more of Harold and Helga's classmates ran up to the two of them, forming a crowd around them. The kids were giving the two formerly missing kids a welcome back with statements of how worried some of them were and questions on what happened to the two of them and how they even managed to find their way back to the city. There even couple of kids saying how they thought that the two were captured by circus people, making Helga and Harold nervous for a brief period.

While the attention flattered Harold a bit, it was irritating Helga to no end. The aggravated girl was about to yell at the crowd in order to get some room to breathe before she heard an all too familiar voice say something that took her breath away.

"Helga! Harold! You're both alright! Oh man, that's a relief. I was really worried about you guys last night."

Hearing those words paired with that voice made Helga's heart all aflutter. She felt euphoric knowing that the boy who she holds near and dear in her heart thought about her with concern for her wellbeing.

Unbeknownst to her, Helga was involuntarily forming a goofy grin on her face as began to stare off into space. The infatuated girl notice it before anyone in the crowd that surrounded her could and she shook her head to re-center herself emotionally. She then turned around to face the boy with the football shaped head who spoke those words. The scowl Helga forced upon herself to form startled the boy.

"Yeah? Well whoop-de-doo for you Football Head!" Helga snapped with a sarcastic tone in her voice. "I'm so happy that you don't have feel the burden of having to worry yourself over me. So sorry for being such an inconvenience to you."

"What? No, that's not what I meant by tha-" Arnold tried to defend himself, but Helga would not let him finish his sentence.

"Why don't you just stay out of my business Arnoldo!" the temperamental girl demanded. "I swear, the one good thing about being lost in the middle of nowhere was the possibility that I never had to deal with your altruistic crap ever again."

Helga followed that statement by turning around and forcing herself through the crowd.

"Out of my way, morons!" was all Helga had to say to the students move aside for the rampaging preteen as she made her way to the school building. "Hey Phoebe! I wasn't able to get back home, so I don't have my books with me. You're gonna have to share your books with me. Capisce?"

Phoebe took that as her cue to follow Helga. Wasting no time, the young girl rushed over to her bossy friend.

"Yes Helga." Phoebe finally answered as she caught up with Helga as she entered the building with the defiant blond.

Most of the other kids decided to get inside the school as well, going off in different directions to get to their classes as quick as possible. Harold, Stinky, and Sid were the only ones who remained on the playground.

"Oh man! It's great to have you back man." Sid said, giving Harold a pat on the back.

"It's good to be back, I guess." Harold responded, still perplexed with all that was going on around him.

"I say this calls for a celebration!" Stinky declared.

"Yeah!" Sid agreed. "And I know just what's needed for the occasion. Come on Stinky!"

Sid motioned Stinky to follow him as he went towards the door that led to the school gymnasium.

"Hey, wait up! I'll come with you guys." Harold stated as he started to follow his friends.

"No stay here Harold." Sid told Harold as he opened the gym door for Stinky. "I want this to be a surprise."

"Why can't I-"

Harold's words of dissent were interrupted by Sid motioning the chubby boy to stay where he stood before entering the gym, the door shutting swiftly afterwards. With that, Harold was left alone in the school's playground, waiting for his friends to return with whatever surprise Sid had in mind.

Harold's moment of solitude was interrupted by the sound of footsteps on the black pavement becoming audible and growing in sound over time. The boy turned his head to the source of the sounds and immediately recognized the fourth grader who was approaching him.

"Oh, hey Rhonda." The boy said with a smile and a wave of his hand.

Rhonda did not seem to respond to Harold's greeting. The young Lloyd just approached the boy and began to walk around him while moving her head up and down. It was like Rhonda was inspecting the Berman kid. Rhonda's behavior made Harold more and more confused as the girl continued to pace around him. After circling the boy three times, Rhonda stopped in front of Harold, giving the boy a stern look with her arms crossed.

"I see that you're not harmed in any substantial manner." Rhonda stated.

"Well I guess I'm okay." Harold said as he rubbed his partially exposed belly. "I am kind of hungry though."

Rhonda scoffed in annoyance before continuing the conversation. "So, where's Helga?"

"She's inside the school." Harold answered back.

"Well that's a relief." Rhonda remarked as she put her hands on her hips. "So then, why did you do it?"

"Do what Rhonda?" Harold's confusion increasing from Rhonda's question.

"Why did you leave Harold?" Rhonda's tone was strict as she rephrased her question.

"What?! I didn't leave you guys." The boy defended himself.

"Oh so you didn't stay at the factory while the rest of us returned to the city then."

Harold groaned in frustration before he went back on the defense.

"It's not like I didn't not get on the bus on purpose. I just didn't know that Mr. Simmons called off the field trip early."

"Because you were too busy indulging yourself to notice." Rhonda added.

"Hey what's with all this third degree anyway? I didn't do nothing wrong."

"Yeah 'nothing'," Rhonda scoffed as she began walking towards the boy whom she was scolding until she went face to face with him. "Except stay in the chocolate factory when you should've been on the bus, got another person lost in the process, made everyone freak out and feel afraid for the rest of the night and a good part of the following morning, and to top it all off, you waltz on the playground like nothing serious happened in the past twelve hours."

"Hey! No one asked you to worry about me Rhonda."

The statement caught the ranting girl off guard for a second. Rhonda swiftly turned around as soon as she felt her face begin to turn red. She distanced herself from her classmate a couple of steps while she was fiddling with her hair. The girl who beforehand spoke with stern confidence was now struggling to respond to Harold's rebuttal. Trying her best to avert the conversation topic away from herself, Rhonda began saying whatever came to her mind.

"Me? Worry ab-bout **you**? _Heh-heh_ , don't be ridiculous. I'm just-uhhh-speaking for my fellow classmates. Yeah! All those poor kids who were worried about you. The ones who were in their rooms, staying up late at night, wondering where you were, or even if you were okay. Feeling the uncertainty in their minds fill their entire essence with fear, fear of the possibility that the worst may have happened. All the while, hoping for the possibility that you would return to-!"

The rambling child stopped her auditory stream of consciousness when she realized what exactly she was saying, putting both hands on her mouth in order to make sure not another word would be uttered.

Rhonda turned her head just enough to get Harold in her peripheral vision, but not so much that the red on her face would be noticeable to the boy. The mortified girl hoped that Harold had not picked up on what she was inadvertently saying. After noticing how the boy in question was scratching his head while giving off a befuddled expression, Rhonda could safely assume he did not understand her not so hidden meaning.

Slightly relieved, Rhonda turned around to face Harold once the red on her face disappeared and she cleared her throat before explaining herself some more.

"You know, I'm just speaking for those who dare not speak. _Heh-heh…_ " the nervous chuckle Rhonda made matched the smile she was displaying.

"You're acting really weird Rhonda." Harold stated while shaking his head, "I'm outta here."

Harold began walking towards the school. As the boy got to the door, Rhonda felt an impulse getting the best of her.

"Wait!" she called out with a hand extended towards her overweight classmate, making Harold stop and turn around to face her in an exacerbated fashion.

"WHAT?!" Harold whined as he gave Rhonda an irritated look.

Rhonda reeled back her arm and placed her hand on her chest as she tried to summon the courage to speak out. After letting out a sigh, Rhonda made the following request.

"Just promise me that you wont ever leave again."

"Huh?" Harold exclaimed, "I never even left in the first place. What are you talking abo-"

" **Just promise, okay**?" Rhonda's outburst silenced the puzzled boy.

Seeing no other way out of this, Harold groaned loudly and complied with Ronda's request.

"Fine. I promise I wont turn up missing ever again. Alright? Is that good enough for you? Can I go now?"

Rhonda did not respond verbally, she just nodded her head before staring at the ground with her hand still placed on her chest.

Harold was not sure why, but the sight of Rhonda in this melancholy state made him feel a sense of guilt that he could not shake off. Not wanting to leave this on a bad note, the remorseful boy swallowed his pride and began to speak up.

"Rhonda." Harold called out, making Rhonda turn her head towards the boy. "I'm sorry…if I made you worry about me. I didn't mean to make you upset."

With his apology stated, Harold immediately turned around and entered the school.

Rhonda stood still in awestruck at what Harold had said to her. The girl could not believe what she had just heard, Harold Berman genuinely felt sympathy for her and he apologized to her with the utmost sincerity. Rhonda was experiencing pure bliss as she took her hand off her chest and placed it on one of her reddened cheeks, resting her head as she was registering what just took place between her and Harold. She let out an involuntary giggle and stared at the doorway with a warm smile.

"Apology accepted." She whispered before waltzing up to the school and entering it herself.

Not long afterwards, Stinky and Sid stormed out the gym into the playground, Sid having a bag in his hand.

"Hey Harold!" Sid began, "I kept some foreign candy Lorenzo gave me a couple of days ago in my locker. I figured that we all can share them to celebrate your…"

Sid became silent when he realized that Harold was not in the playground anymore. He and Stinky turned their heads in every direction in hopes to catch a glimpse of their friend to no avail.

"Where is he?" Stinky inquired hand placed at his brow to make sure the sun would not get into his eyes.

"I don't know." Sid answered, "He was here when we left not too long ago."

The two boys made a simultaneous realization, their eyes widened in shock. Sid dropped the bag on the ground and let its contents spill out on the pavement as he placed both of his hands on top of his head.

"Harold is missing!" Sid declared, " **Again**!"

"Oh man! We should've never let him be by his lonesome." Stinky stated.

"What do you think happened to him?"

"Do you suppose that those circus people got to him."

"That's it!" Sid said with a snap of his fingers. "They must've been stalking Harold, waiting for him to be by himself. Then, when Harold had his guard down, they scooped him up and took him back to their demented show on the road."

"Just like what happened to that Alfred feller."

"It's the only logical reason why Harold wouldn't be here."

"What do you suppose we do then?"

"Okay here's the plan." Sid began as he and Stinky walked out of the playground to the curb of the sidewalk. "Those circus guys probably hadn't gotten too far with Harold. I'm thinking that we should split up. You go down one end of the road and I'll go the other way. Whenever one of us finds Harold and the circus freaks will go to the nearest payphone and call the police."

"Good thinkin' there Sid." Stinky commented.

"Okay then. Let's split up!"

With a course of action planned out, the two boys went off in different directions, calling out the name of their supposedly missing friend. A friend who, unbeknownst to them, was inside the school heading to his classroom with the girl in a red sweater following him closely.

* * *

 **AN: Well that's the end of "Field Trip Absences". Thank you all for taking the time to read my story. I hope you enjoyed it. Whether you did or didn't, leave a review telling me what I did well on and what I can do to improve my writing.**

 **I again want to thank otalku17 for his help with proofreading and helping me think up a title for the story, he has some good stories on his profile that I think are worth a read.**

 **Thank you all again and have a pleasant day.**


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